Seventeen years old, five foot seven inches, and a dream. A senior at Bronx Legacy High School with too much time to kill, the person who would later become the renowned Little Mac had no intention of ever becoming a boxer. Sure, he was well toned, he worked out in his spare time with old friends, but he never had any aspiration to do anything major in terms of sports. In fact, Mac would argue that he was the exact opposite! A bit of a shut in, a bit of a book nerd, as well as an artist. He loved learning, and it seemingly confused everyone who didn’t know him. In particular, he wanted to become a translator. People who knew multiple languages were highly sought after in plenty of fields, and his art could also be used for designs on a much larger scale. Mac was content with the life he was given and had no plans to change his trajectory in life.

Well, he was, until one day he came across a news report from a few years back while researching for a project, the video forever imprinted onto the screen of his personal computer thanks to advancements in modern technology. “Heavyweight Champion Retires After 12 Year Career!” The title screamed to him, and out of sheer curiosity, the teen clicked on the link. What he found was an entry into a world he had never known about. A world completely separate from the admittedly bland and stagnant one that he had figured was his only path. It started a rabbit hole, an insatiable curiosity that hungered and pleaded for more. By the time he had to go to school the next morning, he was mentally exhausted, eyes bloodshot and weary from staring at the screen of his computer as he watched the former champion deliver punch after punch and take blow after blow. In the span of a single night, Mac had gained an entirely separate dream, a sudden surge in his motivation away from the monotonous and repetitive life he had led up to this point.

In the span of twelve hours, Mac went from wanting to be an artist to wanting to become a boxer. It’s crazy how you can have those sorts of realizations in the span of a single night. And so, with zero fighting experience save for the ability to toss a half-decent punch or three, Mac feverishly began looking for a way into the world of boxing. Over the course of several months, Mac would enter a seemingly endless loop of looking for someone, anyone to take him under their wing and show him the ropes, maybe even get to join an official match. Every offer was shut down, and all attempts nearly ended in failure. For a moment, everything looked bleak for Mac’s career. Right as he was losing hope, Mac ended up taking a trip to the Bronx Museum of Arts, where he would find his ticket into history and fame. While walking through the area, Mac came across Doc Louis, the former champion he had watched on that news article several months ago. Desperate to talk to the man, Mac gave chase in an attempt to meet him. When he ultimately caught up and actually got the man to say ‘hello’, Mac learned that Doc was thinking about getting back into the boxing scene as a cornerman, and Mac suddenly dropped his bombshell of a dream onto the man.

“Kid, I like your style.” Doc Louis had said. “Stop by my place this weekend and we’ll see what we can do to get you in perfect shape.”

Seventeen-years-old, no skill, and a dream. That weekend, Mac began the hardest transformation of his life in desperation to continuously prove his worth to the living legend who offered to train him. It was the most grueling experience of his life, with sleepless nights and near constant training. Learning to throw a correct punch, learning when to duck or when to dodge. Slipping, hooks, uppercuts, jabs, stances, styles, bobbing, haymakers… all of these techniques drilled into his head on a daily basis in both tests of physical skill and mental knowledge, one on one coaching sessions with Doc that made the days seem like years. Suddenly school was even more of a chore for him, and even if his grades miraculously didn’t drop into failing. Despite how tough the process was, Mac stuck with it, he kept pushing himself harder and harder to get better. A sudden spark of determination grew and burst into a powerful, raging flame, and it all seemed to climax in a single moment of his last training session on a cold December evening in Doc’s personal ring when Mac pulled off his mentor’s signature ‘K.O. Punch’. It was a momentous occasion, one so big that Doc and Mac stopped practice entirely to go celebrate.

At the start of the new year, Doc announced with pride that his great protege, the rechristened ‘Little Mac’ would be joining the World Video Boxing Association, fighting against the best of the best of people all over the world. Joining at the very bottom of the ranks, Little Mac started his career in the minor circuit against Glass Joe, and from there kept going up the ranks. Von Kaiser, Disco Kid, King Hippo, Piston Hondo, Bear Hugger, Great Tiger, Don Flamenco, Aran Ryan, Soda Popinski, Bald Bull… over the course of the next few years, Mac clawed his way through the ranks punch by punch, blow by blow, until his up and coming match with Super Macho Man. This is where his story leaves off. Will Little Mac best the king of the ring from Hollywood, California? Or will Super Macho Man flex on another opponent and continue his reign over the W.V.B.A?  That’s a story for after the universe gets fixed.